Belt-fastener.



f PATENTED NOV. 17, 1903.

im. s S i mmf. W 7 s 19 J Y w 0 l l bm Q l W/ mmm UNITED STATES Patented November 17, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

BELT-FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 744,353, dated November 17, 1903.

- Application filed November 17, 1902. Serial No. 131.726. (No model.)

VTo all whom it may concern.-

' Be it known that I, HENRY T. JONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Byhalia, inthe county of Union and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Belt-Fastener, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices employed for detachably coupling the ends of drivingbelts, and has for its object the production of a simply-constructed and easily-applied device which may be attached to any of the various sizes of driving-belts, but is more particularly applicable to the belts employed in connection with agricultural machinery and other similar machinery which is exposed to the weather, which renders it necessary to frequently alterthe tension. Another object of the invention is to produce a device by which the adjacent ends of the belt may be connected without weakening the belt or deteriorating it in any manner. The invention consists in certain novel features of construction, as hereinafter shown and described, and specified in the claims.

lnthe drawings illustrative of the invention, Figure 1 is a plan view of the adjacent ends of a belt with the improvement applied. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line II Il of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the clamp-plate inverted. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, illustrating a modification in the construction. Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Figs. 2 and 4, illustrating another modification in the construction. Fig. 6 is a perspective View of one portion of the modified form of the device shown in Fig. 5.

The device may be applied to any size of belt or to belts formed of any material, such as rubber, leather, or the like, and for the purpose of illustration the improved device is shown attached to the opposite ends of an ordinary belt, the ends being indicated, respectively, at 10 and 11.

Attached to the end 10 of the belt is a plate 12, which for the sake of convenience will be herein designated as the primary plate. The plate has one end 13 turned downward over the end of the belt and formed into a hinge member 14, adapted to engage a corresponding hinge member 15 of a plate 16, herein designated as the secondary plate, the plate 12 being attached to one side of the belt 10,

while the'plate 16 is disposed in substantial alinement with the opposite side of the belt 'portion 1l, as shown in Fig. 2, so that when the belt portion 11 is in position in engagement with the plate 16 the adjacent ends of the belt will likewise be in horizontal alinement. The sides of the plate 16 are turned upward and provided with flanges 17 and 18, extending inwardly over the top of the beltsection 11 for a short distance, being inclined to the plane of the plate 16, as indicated in Figs. 2, 4, 5and 6, and forming socket members to adj ustably receive one end of the belt.

A clamp-plate 19 is adapted to be inserted by its ends between the belt-section 11 and the flanges 17 18, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4, and 5, the outer edge of the clamp-plate being turned at. right angles to the body of the plate-and serrated, as shown in Fig. 3, in which this plate is represented as detached and inverted. By this arrangement when the plate 16 is secured tothe belt-section`11, with its edges beneath the flanges 17 18 and with the serrated edge 2O of the wedge-plate 19 extending in engagement with the belt-section and the tension applied, the plate 19 will be drawn forcibly into engagement with the beltsection by the inclined form of the flanges 17 1S, as will be evident by reference to Figs. 2, 4,-and 5, the serrated edge 2O being pressed into the material of the belt and effectnally increasing the grip between the parts. By this means it will be obvious the stronger the tension between the parts the -more firmly Will belt-section 11 begripped.

The plate 16 will preferably be provided with spurs 21 to engage the under side of the belt.

By forming the plate 12 with an offset 13, as shown in Fig. 2, with the plate 16 hinged to said offset, the adjacent ends of the belt will be in longitudinal alinemcnt, so that no offset will appear in the belt at the point of connection. This is an important feature of the invention and adds materially to the efciency of the device, especially in that class of belts in which a strong tension is employed, as under those conditions any irregularity in the contact-surface of the belt would be objectionable.

While the form of structure shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be the preferable form, I do not IOO Wish to be limited strictly thereto, as the modifications shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 may be employed without departing from the principle of the invention or sacrifici-ng any of its advantages, as this modification might be employed in loose belts or belts runnin g slack.

The modification shown in Fig. 4 embodies the plates 16 and 12, arranged in substantial alinement instead of being offset, as in Fig. 2.

The modification shown in Figs. 5 and 6 consists in connecting the plate 16 directly to the belt-section 10 and dispensing with the member 12, and in this modification the beltsections would overlap at their adjacent ends and lie in dilferent planes, but the mechanism by which the coupling is accomplished would be substantially the same as in the other modifications shown. In the use of this device the only perforations iu the belt will be those formed by the rivets 22, by which the plate 12 is secured.

The gage of the sheet-steel employed for forming the parts may be increased or decreased With the size of the belt to adapt the device to the force which it is designed to resist, so that the device is adaptable to all of the various sizes of belts usually employed.

The reversely-turned edge of the clampplate 19, having the serrations 20, is an important feature of the invention, as it greatly increases the grip of the coupling Without adding materially to the expense or Weight.

All of the parts may be struck up from sheet-steel, so that they may be very cheaply manufactured and at the same time possess great strength and durability.

The spurs 21 may be struck up from the metal forming the plate 16 or inserted therein, as may be preferred, and as many of the spurs may be employed as required or found necessary.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A belt-fastener for holding the extremities of a beltin abutting relation comprising a primary plate and means for securing it to one end of the belt, and a secondary plate movably connected to said primary plate and provided with means for adjustably connecting it to the other end of the belt.

2. A belt-fastener comprising a primary plate provided with means for securing it to one end of a belt, and a secondary plate movably connected to and out of alinement with said primary plate and provided with means for securing it to the other end of the belt.

3. A belt-fastener for holding the extremities of a belt in abuttingrelation, comprising a primary plate and means for securing it to one end of the belt, said plate having an 0&- set at one end thereof, and a secondary plate movably connected to the free end of said offset and provided with means for adjustably connecting it to the other end of the belt.

4:. In a belt-fastener, a primary plate for engaging one end of a belt, a secondary plate movably connected to said primary plate and having its edges turned inward and inclined to the plane of the plate and forming socket members adapted to adjustably engage one end of the belt, and a clamp-plate adapted to engage said inclined socket members and be thereby compressed into forcible engagement with said belt when tension is applied, substantially as described.

5. In a belt-fastener, a primary plate, a secondary plate movably connected to said primary plate and having its ends turned inward and inclined to the plane of the plate and forming socket members adapted to adjustably engage one end of a belt, the tops of said socket members being in substantially longitudinal alinement with said primary plate, a clamp-plate adapted to engage said inclined socket members and be thereby compressed into forcible engagement with the belt when tension is applied, and means for securing said primary plate to the opposite end of the belt, whereby the adjacent ends of the belt will be supported in substantially the same longitudinal plane, substantially as described.

6. In a belt-fastener, a primary plate attached to one side of the belt at one end, a secondary plate movably connected to said primary plate and adjustably engaging the opposite side of the belt at the other end, said secondary plate having the edges thereof turned inward and inclined to the plane of the plate, and a clamp-plate engaging said inwardly-turned edges and adapted to be thereby forcibly compressed into engagement with said belt when tension is applied, whereby the ends of said belt are detachably coupled and maintained in substantial longitudinal alinement, substantially as described.

7. In abelt-fastener, a primary plate adapted to be connected to one end of a belt, a secondary plate hinged to said primary plate and having inwardly-extending flanges at the edges thereof inclining to the plane of the plate and forming socket members adapted to adjustably receive one end of the belt, a clamp-plate adapted to engage said inclined socket members and be thereby compressed into forcible engagement with said belt when tension is applied.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

HENRY T. JONES.

Witnesses:

HIRAM WYGLE, J. B. SINGREL. 

